Basic Torah facts - Atheist Nexus2015-03-31T22:13:58Zhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/basic-torah-facts?feed=yes&xn_auth=noNo, no...as a lover of scienc…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-07-06:2182797:Comment:19983722012-07-06T22:31:53.923ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>No, no...as a lover of science and truth, you have to understand what people have done to this primitive document over the centuries. There's no mystery - that's what I found out. It's just a collection of stories.</p>
<p>No, no...as a lover of science and truth, you have to understand what people have done to this primitive document over the centuries. There's no mystery - that's what I found out. It's just a collection of stories.</p> I understand fully. I made m…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-07-06:2182797:Comment:19981052012-07-06T15:33:21.259ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>I understand fully. I made myself slog through it to prove there was nothing profound - and to differentiate text from spin: to be able to say, with authority, "No, it doesn't say that."</p>
<p>I understand fully. I made myself slog through it to prove there was nothing profound - and to differentiate text from spin: to be able to say, with authority, "No, it doesn't say that."</p> Hi Melinda...sorry for the be…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-07-06:2182797:Comment:19982412012-07-06T15:27:49.833ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>Hi Melinda...sorry for the belated reply - I haven't been back to this thread recently. Religious belief (or the appearance thereof) in otherwise intelligent, rational, secularly-educated people is a mystery I haven't solved because I'm disinclined to do the actual research and question such people about their religious behavior. Replies might be a bit defensive, even hostile. </p>
<p>It seems there's a way the brain can regard the fictional as real. We all do it when we read a novel or…</p>
<p>Hi Melinda...sorry for the belated reply - I haven't been back to this thread recently. Religious belief (or the appearance thereof) in otherwise intelligent, rational, secularly-educated people is a mystery I haven't solved because I'm disinclined to do the actual research and question such people about their religious behavior. Replies might be a bit defensive, even hostile. </p>
<p>It seems there's a way the brain can regard the fictional as real. We all do it when we read a novel or watch a movie - we suspend disbelief. Educated religious folks just take it a step further. Just a guess.</p> Couldn't get past Genesis do…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-07-06:2182797:Comment:19979802012-07-06T12:23:21.716ZAlan Carterhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanCarter
<p>Couldn't get past Genesis dodgy Jacob and Rebekah talk about bent politicians </p>
<p>Couldn't get past Genesis dodgy Jacob and Rebekah talk about bent politicians </p> As a follow up question, if D…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-06-20:2182797:Comment:19864992012-06-20T14:14:09.930ZPathttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/Pat46
<p>As a follow up question, if Deuteronomy is one of the books of Moses, how could he have written about his own death, after it happened? (Deuteronomy 34).</p>
<p>As a follow up question, if Deuteronomy is one of the books of Moses, how could he have written about his own death, after it happened? (Deuteronomy 34).</p> How could Moses (didn't exist…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-06-20:2182797:Comment:19864112012-06-20T14:06:00.395ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>How could Moses (didn't exist) have written it if half of it happened before he was born (and he writes about himself in the 3rd person)?</p>
<p>If we understood how people can believe that demonstrable fantasy is truth, we would be a lot closer to the end of faith.</p>
<p>How could Moses (didn't exist) have written it if half of it happened before he was born (and he writes about himself in the 3rd person)?</p>
<p>If we understood how people can believe that demonstrable fantasy is truth, we would be a lot closer to the end of faith.</p> When i was young lad in catho…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-06-20:2182797:Comment:19863432012-06-20T02:08:14.943Zbobhhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/bobh
<p>When i was young lad in catholic grade school, i believe they told us that the Torah was written by Moses himself!! As the years went by and I read more history, i no longer believed in that bit of mythology.It appears to be a fact that there is nothing outside of the Torah/Olde Testament that independently confirms the existence of Moses or any of those characters. The entire field of biblical archaeology , supported by the devout, has been a fruitless attempt to shore up the…</p>
<p>When i was young lad in catholic grade school, i believe they told us that the Torah was written by Moses himself!! As the years went by and I read more history, i no longer believed in that bit of mythology.It appears to be a fact that there is nothing outside of the Torah/Olde Testament that independently confirms the existence of Moses or any of those characters. The entire field of biblical archaeology , supported by the devout, has been a fruitless attempt to shore up the scriptures.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It must be difficult for any thinking person to be a fundie. </p> That was one of the books I c…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-06-20:2182797:Comment:19863322012-06-20T01:03:49.206ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>That was one of the books I consulted as background for my own "An Atheist Reads the Torah" (it's on amazon).</p>
<p>The ancient Jews may have been a Mesopotamian people who attacked the fringes of the Egyptian Empire (think Somali pirates attacking the US Navy). Inscription from one Egyptian general boasts that "Israel's seed is no more" - an overstatement, of course.</p>
<p>"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," Judaism's holiest magic words, is an expression of "Hey…</p>
<p>That was one of the books I consulted as background for my own "An Atheist Reads the Torah" (it's on amazon).</p>
<p>The ancient Jews may have been a Mesopotamian people who attacked the fringes of the Egyptian Empire (think Somali pirates attacking the US Navy). Inscription from one Egyptian general boasts that "Israel's seed is no more" - an overstatement, of course.</p>
<p>"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," Judaism's holiest magic words, is an expression of "Hey guys, we're all Jews, so it's the same god [<em>adonai</em> and <em>elohim</em>, the latter a plural, which imples polytheism], no harm, no foul." </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p> I heard that routine YEARS ag…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-06-20:2182797:Comment:19862572012-06-20T00:56:26.419ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>I heard that routine YEARS ago and cracked up at its groundbreaking irreverence ("Who is this really? Am I on Candid Camera?").</p>
<p>I heard that routine YEARS ago and cracked up at its groundbreaking irreverence ("Who is this really? Am I on Candid Camera?").</p> Melinda...it's the mystery of…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2012-06-19:2182797:Comment:19861132012-06-19T22:20:52.025ZAlan Perlmanhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/AlanPerlman
<p>Melinda...it's the mystery of the brain, which we may never penetrate. The cognition can be split between the real and the unreal, with both seeming equally real to the brain. This is perhaps how a brain surgeon can be a religious idiot. That's what Modern Orthoodoxy is about - these people pretend they can live in both worlds.</p>
<p>Melinda...it's the mystery of the brain, which we may never penetrate. The cognition can be split between the real and the unreal, with both seeming equally real to the brain. This is perhaps how a brain surgeon can be a religious idiot. That's what Modern Orthoodoxy is about - these people pretend they can live in both worlds.</p>